"We've been very fortunate with the weather. We recognise the benefits of having that preparation overseas but we were lucky to get hold of Cambridge University and we have Middlesex [to come]," said Capel.

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Sales has looked class act - Capel

"And we've had some cricket amongst ourselves, a two-day game which was a very useful exercise."

Hall is set to miss the four-day season opener at Derbyshire and potentially the match against Kent.

"It's a slight calf injury and I'd rather make sure he's fit than take a risk at the start of the season. I know he'll be itching to get out there," said Capel.

"I've asked David Sales [to be captain] for the first couple of games. He's looked a class act.

"It's very tempting to get Alex Wakely to captain the side, but I just feel he [needs the opportunity] to concentrate on his batting at the start of the season.

"With David having as much experience as he has, and being in a very good place as a person and scoring runs, I think it's the right decision."

"We've got some good batsmen coming through and David Sales looks really good [but] having Cameron there will really boost our boundary hitting ability," said Alex Wakely.

"We've missed that power-hitting at the top of the order, so hopefully he can add that," said Stephen Peters. "Obviously he's got a wealth of experience in T20 so we'll be trying to learn a lot from him."